Speak to almost any self employed professional and most of them will say that they love their job but don't care much for selling their services. Here’s some advice to help all those reluctant professionals who need to sell to clients.

We have identified 9 basic selling skills that will help you to sell your product or service. Ensure that you and your sales team master these skills and you will be successful at selling.

Research shows that fear of selling is one of the greatest barriers to business success and, often, professionals are the worst of all. But whether you are an accountant, advertising excec or business coach you still have to sell to keep the business coming in.

We have found a few ideas that will help you to become successful at selling yourself. The main idea is to know your product, know your client and be prepared and professional. The following tips will greatly enhance your ability to sell.

Acknowledge the value of selling

Be positive in attitude, love selling. It is widely accepted that the excitement and enthusiasm of the salesperson accounts for around 50 per cent of success in selling. In a world in which everything counts, the excitement and enthusiasm of the salesperson affects the customer's responds.

Manage your sales activities effectively

As a salesperson, you are responsible for results. You can achieve the required result by setting it as a goal, and then resolving to pay the price that must be paid to achieve the goal. You need to establish clear sales goals. The subconscious mind responds to clarity. Having established the sales goals, it is necessary to determine the actions or activities which must be undertaken to achieve those goals.

Know your product

Know your product, its benefit and competitive advantage Why does your customer buy the product or service? What benefit do you sell? It might look like a haircut, but it's probably admiration. It looks like a motorcar, but it's probably status. It might be called a bungee jump, but it's probably excitement. If you're selling to other companies, the benefit is probably increased sales, lower costs or higher profits.

Identify your customers

Why should anybody buy your product or service? What is the benefit or improvement in their condition? Whose life will be enriched? Who will get the greatest improvement from your product or service? With which customers does your competitive advantage make a difference? With which customers does your competitive advantage make the biggest difference? Customers want to be more, have more, do more.

Identifying customer needs

Do not focus on trying to sell the product which you produce. Warehouses throughout the country are full of products nobody wants to buy. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions! Find out what benefit your customer desires. Talk to your customers. You will be surprised how often price is not the priority. They may be looking for a local supplier, excellent service, a guarantee, any risk of loss to be assumed by the supplier, immediate delivery, staged payments. If you know your customer, then you have a far greater chance of forming a lasting relationship which should lead to permanent relationship selling.

Be Great at making presentations

Giving a presentation is one of the most feared events in Western society. In surveys of people's fears, death is usually ranked around number six. Giving a presentation is usually number one. To be excellent at selling, you have to give presentation.

Be prepared to handle objections

"We don't want it, we can't afford it, we don't believe you, we've tried it before and it didn't work, we are perfectly happy with our present supplier and it's not in the budget." Your initial reaction could be that you are not going to make the sale. This is incorrect. You have to understand that an objection is a request for more information. As long as the customer is objecting, you are selling.

Close the deal

A customer is someone who is willing and able to purchase the benefit you offer. In a successful sales presentation, you eventually reach the point when it is time to ask for action, time to close that deal.

Always follow up your sales efforts

You may not sell on the first visit or first occasion. Make a decision to go the extra mile, make the second effort, follow up your initial approach. Contact the prospective customer once again within three days. You can always reopen a negotiation with new information, new price, new terms, a better offer following discussions with your boss. Keep your customer informed. Educate your customer to appreciate the benefit you offer and your competitive advantage. After making a sale, contact the customer within four weeks with a view to making the next sale. Follow up direct mail with a telephone call

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